CH # 09

GAS POWER CYCLES

Lecture # 14
 2

Development of Gas Turbines

1. Increasing the turbine inlet (or firing) temperatures
2. Increasing the efficiencies of turbomachinery components (turbines,
compressors):
3. Adding modifications to the basic cycle (intercooling, regeneration or
recuperation, and reheating).

Deviation of Actual Gas-

Turbine Cycles from Idealized
Ones
Reasons: Irreversibilities in turbine and
compressors, pressure drops, heat losses

Isentropic efficiencies of the compressor

and turbine

The deviation of an actual gas-

turbine cycle from the ideal
Brayton cycle as a result of
irreversibilities.
Modification in Simple Brayton Cycle

• Regeneration

• Intercooling

• Reheating

T-s and P-v diagrams for

the ideal Brayton cycle.
THE BRAYTON CYCLE WITH
REGENERATION
In gas-turbine engines, the temperature of the exhaust
gas leaving the turbine is often considerably higher than
the temperature of the air leaving the compressor.
Therefore, the high-pressure air leaving the compressor
can be heated by the hot exhaust gases in a counter-flow
heat exchanger (a regenerator or a recuperator).
The thermal efficiency of the Brayton cycle increases as a
result of regeneration since less fuel is used for the same
work output.
T-s diagram of a Brayton
cycle with regeneration.

A gas-turbine engine with regenerator.

 Effectiveness
of regenerator
Effectiveness under cold-air standard
assumptions
Under cold-air
standard assumptions

T-s diagram of a Brayton

cycle with regeneration. Can regeneration
be used at high
The thermal efficiency pressure ratios?
depends on the ratio of the
minimum to maximum
temperatures as well as the Thermal
pressure ratio. efficiency of
the ideal
Regeneration is most
effective at lower pressure Brayton cycle
ratios and low minimum-to- with and
maximum temperature ratios. without
regeneration.
Gas Turbines with Reheat
For metallurgical reasons, the temperature entering the turbine must
be limited. This temperature can be controlled by providing air in
excess to burn the fuel in the combustor. As a consequence, the gases
exiting the combustor contain sufficient air to support the combustion
of additional fuel.

 Net work for the reheat cycle is greater than that of the cycle without reheat
 thermal efficiency would not necessarily increase because a greater total heat
addition would be required
 temperature at the exit of the turbine is higher with reheat, so the potential for
regeneration is enhanced.
Compression with Intercooling
Although cooling a gas as it is compressed
would reduce the work,
A heat transfer rate high enough to effect a
significant reduction in work is difficult to achieve
in practice.

A practical alternative is compression

take place in stages with intercoolers
Some large compressors have several stages of compression with
intercooling between stages.
The use of multistage compression with intercooling increases
the net work developed by reducing the compression work.
However, compression with intercooling would not necessarily
increase the thermal efficiency of a gas turbine
Because the temperature of the air entering the combustor
would be reduced

The lower temperature at the compressor exit

enhances the potential for regeneration, however, so
when intercooling is used in conjunction with
regeneration, an appreciable increase in thermal
efficiency can result
 For minimizing work input to
THE BRAYTON CYCLE WITH compressor and maximizing
INTERCOOLING, REHEATING, work output from turbine:
AND REGENERATION

A gas-turbine engine with two-stage compression with intercooling, two-stage

expansion with reheating, and regeneration and its T-s diagram.
Example
Air enters the compressor of an ideal air-standard Brayton cycle at 100 kPa, 300 K,
with a volumetric flow rate of 5 m3/s. The compressor pressure ratio is 10. The
turbine inlet temperature is 1400 K. Determine
1. (a) the thermal efficiency of the cycle, (b) the back work ratio, (c) the net power
developed, in kW.
2. include in the analysis that the turbine and compressor each have an isentropic
efficiency of 80%. Determine for the modified cycle (a) the thermal efficiency of
the cycle, (b) the back work ratio, (c) the net power developed, in kW.